Salvation Army's Conroe shelter to triple capacity

The Salvation Army of Greater Houston will break ground Friday on a 112-bed homeless shelter in Conroe that will more than triple the nonprofit's capacity to assist a growing homeless population in Montgomery County.

The 15,700-square foot facility will be located adjacent to the Salvation Army Conroe Corps Community Center and will be named the Wayne Bergstrom Center of Hope, after the late educator and longtime supporter of the group.

With the homeless population having grown by about 30 percent over the past decade, finding a solution to the problem has become a primary concern of local leaders, according to Montgomery County's most recent community action plan.

"As Montgomery County grows, so does our homeless population, particularly in Conroe because it is centrally located and has access to the most number of services," said Joanne Callahan Ducharme, director of Montgomery County Community Development.

The Salvation Army Lodge provides the only full-service emergency shelter for homeless clients in Conroe, serving single men and women and families.

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"While the Salvation Army Conroe Corps tries to do all we can to help those seeking shelter, unfortunately, we are stretched to the limit," said Adrian Twinney, an officer with the organization.

Twinney said the Conroe location tried to increase capacity to meet the demand, but space is limited with only 44 beds.

"(The shelter) is old and is in deteriorating condition, despite ongoing repairs and maintenance efforts," Twinney said.

The planned $3.2 million center is being paid off through a capital campaign spearheaded by the Salvation Army. As of Tuesday, the organization had raised $1.8 million. It will open later this year.

The organization doesn't have immediate plans to build additional shelters, but spokeswoman Sybil Sanchez said that with the new center, officials will expand educational programs, open a day shelter and offer a feeding program. It will serve men, women and children.

"We're essentially tripling what we can accomplish," she said.

Montgomery County has its own plans to address homelessness. There are 18 agencies that offer shelter or other services to the homeless and all but three are in Conroe.

Every five years, Montgomery County Community Development conducts a countywide survey to tap into what the residents perceive as the greatest needs. In 2007, residents were most concerned about the needs of the elderly and disabled in the community, Ducharme said. By 2013, homelessness was the primary concern.

"I'd like to think it was because we did such a great job providing services, but it is more likely that the increased number and visibility of the homeless in the central corridor drove this shift," she said.

Ducharme said her department is now in the first year of that five-year plan, and has awarded funds to the Montgomery County Homeless Coalition to set up an empowerment center and to help the Salvation Army and Montgomery County Youth Services operate existing shelters.

According to a study done by the Montgomery County Homeless Coalition, which does a street and shelter count of the homeless, there are at least 470 homeless people on the streets at any given time, including a growing number of unaccompanied minors.

"It's an expensive undertaking, but worth it to ease the suffering of some of our most vulnerable residents, particularly the veterans who served our country," Ducharme said.

John D. Harden is a data and breaking news reporter for the Houston Chronicle.

He joined the Chronicle in spring 2014.

In 2017, National Press Foundation honored the Houston Chronicle for it's series Chemical Breakdown. The judges praised the application John helped code, which was central to the series. The application allowed readers to look up chemical facilities with a "potential for harm" that exist in their backyards.